The Logic of Violence in Roman Civil War: in Westall, R. (ed.) The Roman Civil Wars - A House Divided

From Thucydides to Stathis Kalyvas, civil war is associated with wickedness and personal animosities. This contribution seeks to comprehend the violence during the civil war of the Late Republic. It will claim that behaviour during the Roman civil war period was actually typical of comparable conflicts, in particular in terms of indiscriminate and selective violence. The focus is on two case studies: the murder of Cicero during the proscriptions in late 43 BCE and the use of violence by Young Caesar upon the fall of Perusia early in 40 BCE. Violence was not only a conspicuous part of civil war, but also had a distinct purpose to it, viz. the elimination of personal enemies and securing power.